Because of the way it materialized, it will unequivocally be the biggest win of your season should a Big Ten championship eventually appear in Michigan's future.

Or even if the Wolverines should show up in Michigan Stadium on Nov. 17 in position to play for a conference title against undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State.

What coach Lloyd Carr, his staff and, more importantly, the U-M players proved at Memorial Stadium is that they can compete, and prevail, against a worthy opponent in a hostile environment -- staring down a scary spread offense, and with running back Mike Hart on the sidelines.

The same Mike Hart who just so happens to lead the nation with 200 carries and with 1,078 rushing yards to go with his 5.4-yards-per-carry average and 12 touchdowns.

The same senior who is Michigan's all-time rushing king, and who was the rock-solid glue that held the 24th-ranked Wolverine offense together through the good times and the bad during a 5-2 start.

Saturday night, Hart was relegated to a spectator in a blue and maize warm-up suit while still trying to heal a high ankle sprain that sent him to an early exit in last week's 48-21 win over Purdue.

But the Wolverines didn't blink. OK, so they flinched early in the game when Illinois' Vontae Davis returned the opening kickoff 63 yards to help set up Juice Williams' 26-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Willis for a quick 7-0 deficit. And when the Illini simply powered through the Michigan defense for a 13-play, 90-yard drive that consumed 6:23 -- all three Illini season highs -- for Daniel Dufrene's 8-yard scoring run to push the disadvantage to 14-3 a little more than five minutes into the second quarter.

But the rest of the first half belonged to U-M. Or, more specifically, to quarterback Chad Henne, who showed true leadership qualities in Hart's absence.

Henne completed 11-of-15 passes for 159 yards and touchdown throws that covered 8 and 14 yards to Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington, respectively, while directing a six-play, 80-yard drive and a 14-play, 81-yard march to create a 17-14 halftime lead.

Unfortunately, Henne was forced to join Hart on the sidelines to begin the second half because of a reported shoulder injury that pressed backup Ryan Mallett into action.

That also forced the Wolverines into a cold sweat during a third quarter that ended with a 17-17 tie thanks to Illini kicker Jason Reda's 38-yard field goal.

While Henne stood tall in the first half, Mallett -- whose lone appearance in the first two quarters was during U-M's 10-play, 44-yard drive to get a 25-yard field goal from K.C. Lopata in the first quarter -- faltered in the second half.

First, the freshman fumbled the center snap at the Illinois 29-yard line midway through the third stanza. He then tossed an interception into the hands of safety Justin Sanders at the Illini 4 with eight seconds left in the quarter.

That forced Henne back into the game to simply be part of a comeback that was more the result of Illinois mistakes rather than Wolverine accomplishments.

Yes, Michigan won the game with a trick-like play that found wide receiver Adrian Arrington throw an 11-yard touchdown pass to fellow wideout Mario Manningham on a fake reverse. And, yes, the play was the result of Illini punt returner Kyle Hudson's lost fumble at his 13-yard line with 8:56 to play.

And, yes, once again, a few of U-M's offensive drives were kept alive by Illini penalties.

But the bottom line is that the Wolverine defense bent, but never did break all night. Backup running backs Carlos Brown and Brandon Minor weren't great, but they both did just enough to help get a pivotal win as far as the Big Ten championship chase is concerned.

Most impressive of all is the fact that Michigan overcame more than its share of adversity on the road, and against a quality opponent, without Mike Hart.